Done for Attention
by GWA
Summary: Welcome to the GWA's 2nd Guess the Author contest. Written by Brother to Vorlons in his very first story online!


Welcome folks to the second GWA Guess the Author Contest! It's a smaller group this time, but I don't think anyone will mind with this group.

The rules are simple! Simply PM me, Zaratan, with who you believe wrote each story. Send me your answers in one PM, to make things easier on me. No other method will be accepted. The person closest will get to choose the next subject for the contest! In the case of a tie, the person to get their response in first will get the win!

Revenant666 got the win last time, correctly guessing all 7 stories. As such, he got to pick this month's story topic… Unexpected! Believe me folks, this has lead to some interesting stories, even if we have 2 fewer of them. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Our authors…

**Zaratan** – Host supreme, celebrating his first year here, and hoping to become as productive again as in the past, with an on-going series and many other stories under his belt.

**Whitem** – Comedy, action, drama, smuff, he does it all with style and flair.

**Yvj **– A master at the art of the one-shot, and with several major stories, this artist is looking to claim a spot at the top.

**AtomicFire – **Eclecticwriter and reader, with a flair for taking the impossible and making it possible, including the most amazing Ron/Director story on the net!

And introducing, in his first story ever on the net…

**Brother to Vorlons – **An unknown as a writer here, but that doesn't mean squat as he brings us his inestimable talents for the first time!

There you have it folks! Be sure to check out all the stories, and place your votes before October 10th for a chance to win and choose the next topic!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Done for Attention**

Like young people all over America, the students of Middleton High School had had high expectations that their Prom would be one of the highlights of their young lives, a memory they could treasure forever. Two weeks later, for the most part everyone agreed that it turned out just fine. Those who worked odd jobs to afford the formal clothes, and those who worked up the nerve to ask out their dates, those who worked on the Prom committee; all could look back now and appreciate that everything had turned out pretty much as they had hoped it would.

Only two incidents occurred that impacted somewhat on the events of the evening. One, the entire world came under attack by an army of giant, flying robots, evidently as part of a plot by the management of the Bueno Nacho corporation to take over the world. The prom-goers, Middleton residents all, were not necessarily alarmed by this, in the same sense – and for the same reasons – that your average southern Californian doesn't panic at the first word of an impending earthquake. But the possibility did exist that the gym would have to be evacuated if the emergency escalated. So for a tense while, even as the dancing continued, everyone was either keeping an eye on the news on a portable TV, or checking in periodically with someone who was. Fortunately, no direct source of danger ever came near the school grounds and the Prom was not ruined. That news was happily received, but not terribly unexpected, given that resident hero Kim Possible herself had left earlier purportedly to deal with the Diablo crisis. Which led to the other remarkable event of the evening.

When Kim Possible had first arrived at the Prom, it had been on the arm of that new guy, Eric something. No one was quite sure where he got off to once Kim had left to save the world, but once she came back, no one cared.

Because when Kim Possible returned to the prom, it was on the arm of her best friend and partner in crime-fighting, Ron Stoppable. Not simply with him, which wouldn't have prompted a second thought. Their matching formal wear and their body language left no doubt that they were, in fact, there _together_. As one student put it, "It finally happened…Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are dating!" The response to which was one of celebration (much to the chagrin of the girl in question, who'd _never_ liked either of them.) Celebration and applause – but not much surprise, really. In retrospect, it was pretty much what everyone expected.

Now everyone was basking in the yet-green memories of Prom, tinged with anticipation for the upcoming summer.

Kim and Ron had been inseparable since the prom, the fact that they had most of their classes together notwithstanding. After over ten years as the standard "just friends" in the rare event anyone even asked, they were clearly basking in the glow of young love. Ron had finally overcome a long-held fear that he could never express his feelings for fear of weirding out his best friend. Kim came to appreciate that what she wanted in a real boyfriend lie beneath the surface in front of her all along. One of the nicest aspects of their new relationship was the acclaim it generated among the other students. Being teenagers, neither were totally immune to criticism from their peers, but there was nothing different in how either of them were treated to make them regret or feel awkward about dating. In the eyes of the school community at large, things were exactly as they should be.

With one rather outspoken exception.

Bonnie Rockwaller was the proverbial 'Queen Bee' of Middleton High, the quintessential popular girl that, in theory, all the boys wanted to date and all the girls wanted to hang out with. The kind of girl who felt that social standing was maintained in part by making sure all the uncool kids were kept in, and aware of, their place. As the self appointed custodian of the 'food chain,' it offended her sensibilities that Ron, who should have been relegated to watching 'Space Passages' and professional wrestling every weekend with the rest of the Middleton Ostracized Club, was dating the head cheerleader. As someone who felt that SHE deserved to be the head cheerleader, it violated her every sense of universal order that Kim could date Ron and still be regarded as oh-so-perfect by everyone in school.

Ever since Kim had somehow tricked her way onto the cheer team in junior high – no, Bonnie decided, ever since she overwhelmingly lost to Kim for captain of the high school cheer squad (twice!) she had felt like she and Kim were part of the same zero-sum equation. Not that she would have phrased it that way, as she wasn't in any of Kim's advanced placement classes with the other nerds. Kim was up in everyone's eyes, so she, Bonnie, was by definition down. It was maddening. As far as she could tell, she had all the qualities that should have put her on top of the food chain. At the very least, she should be higher than Kim in this equation. She wasn't a math nerd for one, obviously. She was also certain that she had more on Kim as a cheerleader, no matter what the rest of the squad might say.

But above all, Bonnie had her looks. Anyone could see that Bonnie was the better teenage girl because she actually looked like a teenage girl, compared to whom she felt Kim more resembled a tall ten-year-old. She had legs like a weight lifter and a chest like mosquito bites. Why can't everybody see that, and respond accordingly? Heck, why can't even Ron see that? Not that Bonnie necessarily wanted anything to do with the loser _now_, but if he was going to make a fool of himself ogling girls above his station, why doesn't he at least admire _her_?

Maybe, Bonnie figured, it was time to demonstrate that. In any event she had to respond in some way to the new status quo on campus. It was expected, after all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That afternoon, when Kim came home from school, her mother could feel the tension radiating off of her. In sharp contrast to the blissful cloud she'd been on for the past three weeks. Although she'd never so intrusive as to try and play matchmaker, she had always felt that Ron might be better for Kim, might care more _for_ her, then most of the superficially 'cute' boys Kim seemed interested up until now. She was quite thrilled to learn that they were going to give dating a try.

Still, such a development came with its own baggage, in that a couple might have fights that feel … more personal than they would were they between mere best friends. That's only to be expected.

"…practically _drooling_ on her in front of everybody!" Kim was saying to herself, at a volume that precluded calling it 'muttering.'

"What, did Ron misbehave at Bueno Nacho?" Mrs. Dr. Possible asked. It was meant to be a flip remark, to lighten Kim's mood as a prelude to some mother-daughter quality time regarding the unanticipated hassles of boyfriends.

So she wasn't quite prepared to hear Kim reply "Yes" quite so matter-of-factually. Followed by "No." Followed by Kim seeming to calm down to a simmer.

"What's wrong, Kimmie?"

Kim seemed to take that as a cue to sink deeper into dejection.

"Mom…Ron thinks I'm ugly."

_Ohh-kay_. "Kimmie, I'm sure that's not true."

"Well, he doesn't think I'm as pretty as some other girls, apparently."

"Like what other girls?"

"Like Bonnie 'Balloons' Rockwaller."

Dr. Possible deduced the situation right then, more or less accurately. Which is when Ron burst into the kitchen like he was late for an appointment.

"Kim! Will you please…oh, hi, Mrs. Dr. P."

"Hi, Ron. We were just talking about you."

Kim took the school binder she'd been holding and held it against her chest with her arms crossed, as though she were self-conscious about something, confirming her mother's suspicions.

"What's the matter, Ron?" Kim asked bitterly. "The peep show over?"

"What?" Kim's mom said in an exaggerated tone, more to encourage a response than out of any real shock on her part.

"No, no, no, there wasn't any 'peep show,' Mrs. Dr. P" Ron said hurriedly. "She's talking about this incident after school today… hey, it wasn't even anything _I_ did, Kim; it was just Bonnie trying to get under your skin. Again."

Dr. Possible turned from the kitchen counter where she had been surreptitiously preparing a tray of cheese and crackers, an after-school snack she used to prepare for both of them in first grade. "Ron, if you'd grab some sodas, please, and let's all sit down in the living room. On some level she realized that this was a first taste of a lovers' tiff for the both of them, and she really should butt out and let them experience it for themselves. But just as they were new to being a girlfriend and boyfriend, she was still too recently a mother to small children to be able to let go of her instincts to kiss the hurts away. But she felt she had something invested in her daughter's relationship with Ron; before she met her husband, she had had her share of regrets in the form of her associations with superficially handsome young men who didn't really care for the bright woman behind the red hair and blue eyes. She saw Ron as someone who knew and respected Kim as a person, while too many of the 'hotties' Kim used to favor, she felt, only wanted to claim the head cheerleader or the famous teen hero. Besides, she wanted to get her two cents worth in to what she expected was the topic.

Seated comfortably in the living room, and seeing that Kim was still a tad on the agitated side, Dr. Possible motioned for Ron to begin speaking.

"Well," Ron began, "Bonnie Rockwaller has been trying to put Kim down since, well, forever actually. But ever since the Prom, it's been more like she's been trying to …"

"Break us up." Kim interrupted. "She used to rag on me for having Ron as a friend. Now she's all about how I should be too good for Ron. Or she was until today…She came up to our booth at Bueno Nacho and said how …how…"

"Yes?" her mom prompted gently.

"How Ron shouldn't be attracted to me, as opposed to a 'real woman.'" Kim didn't have to move her fingers for her mother to hear the air quotes. "She was wearing this ridiculously tight blouse and she practically shoves her…self… into Ron's nacho sauce. And _Ron_…" she cast a withering glare in his direction. "… stares at her chest like he's got a test on it tomorrow!"

"Hey, come on!" Ron protested. "Like you said, she was pushing into my personal space. It's not like I could pretend she wasn't there."

"Well, why couldn't you stop being there?"

"What? We were in our regular booth. Where was I supposed to go? Under the table?"

"No, I just…OH!" Kim put her forehead on her knees in frustration.

"Kimmie," Dr. Possible chimed in, "didn't you tell me after Prom you expected Bonnie might try to, er, be more troublesome?" That wasn't the wording Kim used at the time, of course, but Kim's mom didn't feel the situation called for such language. "Because she found she was kind of left dangling when the rest of the student body wouldn't join her in ridiculing your date? Why is this such a bit issue now?"

"Because it's not what Bonnie did, Mom! Or at least, it's not _just_ what she did. It's how Ron reacted to it! Bonnie was trying to make me feel, y'know, inadequate." Her voice softened slightly. "I guess, by the way you acted, I kind of am."

Dr. Possible sighed inwardly. Her first teenage child, with her first relationship, having her first real bout of body image issues. She knew she really should have expected this. She had a feeling she knew what Kim was going to ask about at some point in the future. She was right, it's just that she didn't think she'd ask right then.

"Mom, just out of curiosity, if I ever decided I was interested in … implants…"

Kim's mom already knew her own mind on this subject, but figured just declaring it outright may not be the best approach to give her opinion to spirited daughter.

"Oh, Kimmie. As both your mother and a doctor…"

"It's because you're a doctor that I figure I should be able to ask you."

"Ah…can I say something?" Ron really looked like he wasn't sure he business even asking.

"Yes, Ron." Kim said.

"Why would you even want to do that? Get a boob job, I mean? What would be the point?"

Kim blinked. "Well, why do you think, Ron? So I look better, for…for…"

"For me?"

Up until now, Ron had been the uncomfortable one in this conversation. But now, Kim was feeling slightly abashed, without really being clear why. Perhaps that's what emboldened Ron to say what he did next.

"Mrs. Dr. P, can I ask you something? This might sound kind of like a dumb thing to ask someone's mother, but, well, you _are_ a doctor too and all, so…"

She smiled. "'The only dumb questions,' Ron…ask away."

"Well…" Ron began. Then, with the feeling of a man about to step off the high dive, "It may seem like kind of a guy thing to say this this way, but…as Bonnie was demonstrating today, isn't part of the point of women having breasts to…uh…get attention?"

Kim smirked humorlessly. Dr. Possible said, "Well, it is more of a 'guy thing' in that it has more to do with what men notice than what women have. But yes, you could say that."

"And, well, isn't ah…" Ron had to stave off a case of cold feet over continuing this, but as he often did, he came through for what he felt was Kim's sake. "If a guy and a girl really want to be together, doesn't the guy liking the girl's breasts mean he…" cough lightly, then "might want to touch them?"

"Ron?" said Kim through clenched teeth. Her mother kept a neutral expression.

"Yes." she said simply.

"So…like I said, what would be the point?"

Both women stared at him somewhat blankly.

"I'm not sure I understand your question."

"Well, as I understand it, you make the boobs bigger by cutting the skin open and putting a blob of silly putty on top of the real boob, right? Like stuffing and fluffing a pillow to get it in the shape you want it."

"Well, it's more of a plastic bag filled with…"

"Mom, let him get to the point." Kim was blushing slightly, but in truth she was actually kind of interested in seeing where Ron was going with this.

"Well it's just that, where I had surgery on my knee here…" Ron indicated his right knee, on which he reconstructive surgery and weeks of therapy after tearing his ACL ligament during a mission "…I've still got kind of a numb spot. I mean, not that I can't feel anything at all, but I can sure tell I feel a lot less compared to my other knee. I've gotta believe it would be kind of the same no matter where you were doing the cutting and stitching."

Ron paused.

"Go on…" Kim said.

"So, what I guess I mean is, what would be the point of getting surgery that makes me want to touch you more if you aren't going to be able to feel it? I mean, wouldn't that basically be a more expensive version of stuffing your bra with tissues?"

"I think girls would do it because they want to look nice. Like buying our clothes from someplace nice instead of Smarty Mart…uh, Mom?"

Ron noticed, as Kim had, that Mrs. Dr. Possible had grown still and quiet. Turning to her, they saw…

That she had tears running down her face.

And she was smiling widely.

And before either teen could formulate a question as to why, she stood up, strode purposefully to where Ron was sitting, and pulled him into a fierce embrace, sobbing just a bit.

Ron was a little concerned he might have been out of line raising this topic; he wasn't sure if either lady would be offended or grossed out or what, but _this_ reaction was totally unexpected. Unsure of what was the entirely appropriate response, Ron patted her back and just held her for a moment.

Finally he asked, "Uh, Mrs. Dr. P? Am I in trouble or something?"

"No, Ron. You're not." She extricated herself from Ron, who didn't know what to make of this. Neither, for that matter, did Kim. But Kim knew how to send her mother the non-verbal cues that said _You are going to tell us where _that _came from, right?_

After everyone had sat back down, Dr Possible began. "The answer to your question, Ron, is that the point is that far too many women get all their self-esteem from their looks, from the approval of others. From being or feeling popular. A lot of those women don't think about long term consequences or side effect – and believe me, losing some ability to enjoy sex is just about the least of it."

Ron personally found that hard to believe, but certainly wasn't going to contradict Dr. Possible.

"In a way it's like kids who take up smoking in order to look cool because that's what all the cool kids are doing. They may not even like to smoke, and they certainly aren't thinking about lung cancer – or if they are, they put it out of their minds because at the time, it doesn't seem as important as being in the company of people who are…" glances pointedly at Kim "…on top of the 'food chain.'"

By this point, Kim's mom seemed recovered from her earlier outburst. She wasn't speaking with outrage or passion, she was clearly trying to inform, hoping the facts themselves would get her point across. She turned directly towards Ron, the better to look him directly in the eyes, but her words were still aimed at both of them.

"And some men don't think – don't care – about girls who do such things to themselves for the sake of a little attention. Yes, Ron. It's perfectly natural for a guy's eyes to feel drawn to a little décolletage…"

"'A little…' wait, was I supposed to bring someone flowers?" Ron asked.

Kim elbowed him. But she smiled as she did. "That's French for cleavage, genius." Ron was happy to see that all the heat had gone out of Kim over this matter.

"_BUT_…" Dr Possible wanted their attention back, "that's an instinctive reaction, like your mouth watering when you smell good food."

"Well, we were in Bueno Nacho at the time."

"My point, Ron, is that you showed you care about Kim. That it matters to you what happens to her, how she feels, that you don't want to just … use her to make yourself look or feel good…I always knew you'd be…no, I'm not going to start crying…"

This time both Ron and Kim took the initiative, and embraced Dr. Possible. After a moment, she looked up. "I'm probably making more of an issue than I need to. It's just that as a doctor, I know what a really, really bad idea that kind of surgery is…"

"Oh, I'm not going to do it, Mom." Kim said. Then she smiled warmly at Ron. "I guess I have no real reason to." _Quite the opposite, it seems_. But she'd want to spend a little more time just dating Ron before exploring those areas.

"So," Ron said cautiously, "Does that mean we're done with acting tweaked about Bonnie posing around us? Because you know, she's probably going to try it again."

"Yeah, but she's just doing it to get a reaction. Which _we_ won't give her anymore. It seems kind of pathetic now, but she just wants to be the center of attention, which she hasn't been since the prom. So she's flaunting the fact that her boobs are bigger than mine as a way to get my goat."

"Well, no big. Everyone pretty much expected that."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, as she did every night, Bonnie Rockwaller selected her outfit for school the next day, made sure her preferred nail polish was where she could find it and her sister couldn't, and set aside her brassiere with the tissues packed in it to just the right shape.


End file.
